Brad Pitt says Bradley Cooper helped him get sober

Brad Pitt’s journey to sobriety happened in part thanks to Jenkintown’s own Bradley Cooper, the actor has said.

Pitt this week attended the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala in New York City, where Cooper presented the star with a best supporting actor award for his role in Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood, People reports. During his acceptance speech, Pitt credited Cooper as a factor in his own journey to sobriety.

“Bradley just put his daughter to bed and rushed over here to do this,” Pitt said, referencing Cooper’s young daughter Lea De Seine. “He’s a sweetheart. I got sober because of this guy and every day has been happier ever since.”

Pitt initially discussed his decision to quit using drugs and alcohol in a 2017 interview with GQ. At the time, Pitt had split from his ex-wife Angelina Jolie, and told the publication that his clean living left him thinking that there is “still much beauty in the world and a lot of love.”

“I had to step away for a minute,” Pitt said. “And truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.”

The Ad Astra star has openly discussed his sobriety since then, most recently telling the New York Times in September that he got clean and started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings after having “taken things as far as I could take” them.

“I removed my drinking privilege,” he said.

Cooper himself has been sober for well over a decade. He gave up drugs and alcohol at age 29, according to a 2012 interview with the Hollywood Reporter. The decision to give up his substance use, Cooper said, came after he realized that he “wasn’t going to live up to my potential” otherwise.

“That scared the hell out of me,” Cooper said. “I thought, ‘Wow, I’m actually gonna ruin my life; I’m really gonna ruin it.’”

Pitt’s best supporting actor award from the National Board of Review for Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood is his second this week following a win at the Golden Globes on Sunday.

Cooper, meanwhile, is working on co-parenting daughter Lea with ex Irina Shayk. The pair, TMZ reports, have a joint-custody agreement that has them both living in New York City.